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William G. 'Bill' Baird Spartanburg, SC QCWA # 03239 Chapter 89 |
William G. Baird passed away on Wednesday, November 3, 2004, at approximately 10:30 am at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. Bill was 86 years of age. Bill slipped gently away with his wife, Anne, by his side. Bill's funeral is expected to be held at Floyd's Greenlawn Chapel on Saturday November 6TH at approximately 3 pm.
Bill was born on October 5, 1918, in St Louis, Missouri. Bill worked with his friend, Brad Dewey Jr., during World War II. He was an explosive expert for the Army designing special detonators for the bombs dropped in both theaters of the war. Brad Jr. saw the innovative spirit in Bill and brought him to his father's company, Dewey and Almy, on a process that became CRYOVAC.
Bill began to develop the innovations that made Cryovac the company it became under Dewy and Almy, then W.R. Grace and now Sealed Air Corporation. In fact if one man could be assigned the title, Bill Baird should surely be called "The Father of Cryovac."
Among the many many innovations Bill made to the Cryovac process was the use of electron beams to crosslink polyethylene for shrink packaging. In 1956, Bill began the use of 1 Million Volt electron beams on the shrink processes for Cryovac. Today Cryovac is a world leader in shrink packaging because of the genius of Bill Baird.
In 1999, Bill received the Gunderson Award from the International Registry of Radiation Safety Officers (IRRSO) for his contributions in Radiation Processing and Radiation Safety.
Bill was a friend to all who knew him. He was also a mentor to many who worked for him. He will be missed and remembered both professionally and personally by all of us who benefited from his work and his life. "Go with God, friend."
(Source: http://www.sfowler.com/memorials/Baird/Bill.htm)
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DUNCAN, SC (Nov. 9, 2004) -- With deep regrets and sorrow, Sealed Air Corporation announces that Mr. William (Bill) G. Baird, retired vice president of research, development and engineering for its Cryovac food packaging division, passed away on Wednesday, Nov 3, 2004 at age 86 after a period of declining health.
Mr. Baird joined the company in 1946, when it was known as the Dewey & Almy Chemical Company. In addition to pioneering the development of shrink films for use in packaging, he also was the first to use electron beam crosslinking technology to produce packaging materials and the first to develop multi-ply plastic extrusion on a large scale for packaging, many of the processes and products which are cornerstones of Cryovac's food packaging innovation.
Mr. Baird was awarded patents concerning irradiation of plastics, plastic processing, shrink-packaging and plasma chemistry. He retired from Sealed Air Corporation in 1982 with 37 years of service to the company.
"Mr. Baird was a true technical visionary, and he built a strong technology foundation for Sealed Air's Cryovac food packaging division. Many of our current processes and products exist as a result of his innovation and leadership," explains Johnnie Walters, vice president of research, development and engineering for Sealed Air Corporation's Cryovac food packaging division.
Mr. Baird was a charter member of the Sealed Air Inventors Hall of Fame, and was the author of more than 30 publications and co-authored numerous books including Web Processing and Converting Technology and Equipment. He also was very active in many associations including AIChE, SPE, Sigma Xi, ARRL, RSGB and PI. Throughout his career, Mr. Baird received many honors including the Packaging Institutes Professional Award in 1977, Food Engineer Hall of Fame in 1978, Principle Award in 1980, Third Institute Meeting of Radiation Processing Tokyo for Scientific and Industrial Leadership in Development of Irradiated Packaging Materials, and the Society of Plastics Engineering Outstanding Achievement Award in 1983.
(Source: Sealed Air Corp.)
CREDITS
Photo #1: http://www.sfowler.com/memorials/Baird/Bill.htm
